Kaidan Game Train: Abide Rule or Die!

Chapter 2445: Sudden Drowsiness

Chi Cai’s claim wasn’t entirely fabricated to stop the green-haired female player from harming the villagers; there is some logic to it. If one ignores the player’s identity, only one person can die in the forest each day. Random killings could indeed make one a target, as it breaks the rules of the forest.The instance’s player count decreased from 42 to 35. It’s uncertain whether these players were killed by other players or by the Hidden Friend. Today is the fifth day, and if we follow the rule of "one person dies per day," a new actor might appear today, or the Hidden Friend might continue killing.

Of course, this is a guess with very few clues and lacks a basis. The instance’s direction will depend on what changes occur next.

That night, Xu Huo didn’t plan to sleep. In fact, many players had the same plan. But somehow, as the village lights gradually went out, an indescribable drowsiness slowly crept in. It felt like it had been a long time since the last sleep, and now there was an urgent need to rest. It didn’t matter if it was a bed or the floor; as long as one could lie down and close their eyes...

Noticing this strange drowsiness, Xu Huo woke up the Girl in the painting, who was playing a game, along with the equally drowsy Chi Cai and Yang Tian to play cards.

The night seemed particularly long. The group felt like they had been playing cards for a long time, but when they checked the time, only an hour had passed.

Chi Cai couldn’t hold on any longer. He yawned and said, "Why don’t we take turns to keep watch? If I don’t sleep now, I’m afraid I won’t be able to wake up if something happens later."

Yang Tian was also affected, his eyes were red and teary, "If we fall asleep, I’m afraid things will go wrong. Let’s give ourselves a couple of shots of adrenaline and continue playing cards."

The two of them each took a shot of adrenaline, and Chi Cai handed two more to Xu Huo, "This one I’m using has no side effects for sure. Try it and see if it works, there’s still a long way until dawn."

Xu Huo took it but didn’t use it. The four reshuffled the cards, but except for the Girl in the painting, the other three were not in high spirits. Sometimes they would close their eyes between card turns and only wake up when someone called them.

Another hour passed, and Chi Cai simply lay on his chair to play cards, eyes closed, not fully asleep yet.

"You guys are boring." The Girl in the painting took out the communicator to type and then said to Xu Huo, "You can sleep; I’ll call you if something happens."

"Sister, call me too." Chi Cai’s hand dropped, and then he started snoring.

"I really can’t hold on anymore." Yang Tian put up a Defensive Barrier on himself before lying down.

Xu Huo simply got up to go and take a look outside.

Others looking for alertness also came out, like Bubble Bean, the eyebrow-pierced man from the neighboring room, and the green-haired female player residing in the dungeon venue. They all tried to perk up by pacing at the entrance, but the more they did so, the slower time seemed to pass, especially amid the calmness around them.

After a while, the eyebrow-pierced man went back to sleep, then the green-haired female player, leaving only Bubble Bean and Xu Huo outside.

"Can you eat Bubble Beans?" Xu Huo suddenly asked.

Bubble Bean paused for a moment, skeptical of his intention but still answered, "When you’re out of food, anything is edible. Some people can even gnaw on turf until it’s clean... But after eating Bubble Beans, the worst that could happen is vomiting bubbles; if many people eat them, they’d all vomit bubbles together."

He forced a smile, "One or two people vomiting isn’t much to see, but dozens or hundreds vomiting together... that would look like hell on earth."

He paused, then looked at Xu Huo, "Shall we talk about something thrilling?"

"Are you really a dungeon player?"

Xu Huo chuckled, "Going from a pleasant chat to such unpleasant topics is somewhat abrupt."

Bubble Bean shrugged, "Doesn’t matter, I figure there aren’t many here who can beat you, so whether you’re a dungeon player or not doesn’t make much difference."

He finished with a long yawn, "I’m heading back to sleep. If anything happens, give me a holler."

The neighboring door closed again, leaving only Xu Huo outside. With nothing better to do, he took out the half-finished robot he’d previously assembled and continued working on it, staying alert till dawn, waiting for the drowsiness to lift.

The forest was lighting up again, and the villagers gradually rose to make breakfast. As voices returned to the earth, the players, who had fallen asleep, woke up one by one, realizing with surprise that they had unknowingly slept through the night without waking up!

As they came out somewhat apprehensive, Xu Huo’s robot was fully assembled. He stretched and said to the Girl in the painting, "I’m going to catch up on some sleep; keep an eye out."

The Girl in the painting nodded, "If anyone disturbs your sleep, I’ll kill them."

"That’s not necessary," Xu Huo said. "Just call me if anything happens."

The Girl in the painting felt a bit disappointed but remained vigilant, scanning the surrounding players, then sat down on the threshold.

The drowsiness from last night was peculiar. Many players used adrenaline but couldn’t resist the sleepiness. It wasn’t related to their diet, as some ate local foods and others their own, so the most likely suspect was the nighttime mist.

"Nothing detected in the air," the Player with missing ear said to the green-haired female player. "Doesn’t seem like anything secreted by plants. Maybe something about the entire dungeon venue is off, making people sleepy, like environmental hypnosis."

This theory is unconvincing, but since nothing happened last night, there seems to be no clue for further investigation.

"What shall we do today?" the Yin Yang Master asked Bubble Bean.

Yesterday, they examined Toto’s grave. Since no new players arrived, probing the Hidden Friend proactively didn’t seem wise. It looked like staying put was the best option.

"Let’s document the surrounding plants," Bubble Bean suggested. "I always feel that the mutant plants in this forest are dangerous."

The other players also had their own plans and quickly dispersed.

The eyebrow-pierced man and the middle-aged man split up. The former teamed up with Bubble Bean, the latter acted alone, and the green-haired female player stayed with the Player with missing ear. As for Yang Tian and Chi Cai, Chi Cai took some effort to convince Yang Tian, and they decided to stay in the village.

"The instance emphasizes not being alone, yet he dares to go solo. What a brave man," Chi Cai said, watching the middle-aged man leave alone.

"Not exactly solo," Yang Tian noted. "I just saw three young locals headed that way to forage wild vegetables..."

He stopped mid-sentence, exchanged glances with Chi Cai, and the two quickly followed.

Initially, they suspected the middle-aged man might be trying to carry out the green-haired female player’s suggestion from yesterday. But upon catching up, they found he wasn’t with the three locals at all.